Luo Li, who was already a light sleeper, woke up the moment she heard voices outside the door.
She had hardly rested properly throughout this journey, and her nerves had remained in a state of constant tension.
Even though she now had the backing of the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign, and the situation on the front lines was progressing as she had predicted.
She could not truly feel at ease until she saw the final outcome.
The carriage door was a sliding type, and with the sound of wood scraping, Ligeia's figure was revealed as the door opened.
"Did Your Highness just wake up?"
Ligeia's heart couldn't help but tremble as she looked at little Luo Li sitting on the bed with bloodshot eyes.
She felt a sudden urge to pull this sickly version of Luo Li into her arms right then and there.
However, she knew that one must not be impatient in such matters.
A lifespan of several hundred years had taught her that relationships between people could not be explained in just a few words.
Furthermore, what kind of person was her little Luo Li?
Even Ligeia, who considered herself an old monster, could not see through her.
At times, she was as decisive as a man, yet in every frown and smile, she possessed the unique elegance and charm of a woman.
A hint of the demonic was hidden within her holiness.
In her three hundred years of life, this was the first person she had ever met with such a temperament.
No one had ever possessed such a massive conflict of characteristics within them.
Because the traits were so contradictory, they were usually difficult to notice, but Ligeia had seen it at a glance.
That was why she had been captivated the first time Luo Li had visited her.
And then there were those words Luo Li had spoken...
Her thoughts spun a hundred times, but only a blink of an eye had passed.
"Mhm..."
Luo Li rubbed her slightly tight forehead, the tension making her unconsciously grit her teeth even while she slept.
She did not dare to relax, for although they currently held the advantage, who knew what secrets were hidden within this land that had not been trodden upon for a millennium?
Take that giant tentacle, for example; it was fortunate that only one had been summoned. If several had appeared simultaneously.
Even with the help of the dragon elites, it would have been impossible to retreat unscathed.
Although it seemed there was only one for now... who dared to believe there truly was only one?
Until the moment both sides reached the point of no return, no one could be certain what trump cards the opponent still held.
This... was a true battlefield.
There was no advance warning and no absolutely overwhelming power.
Both sides were testing each other, and both were cautiously on guard.
"I'm a bit sleepy, but... I still didn't sleep very comfortably."
The tightness in her forehead made Luo Li's scalp feel constantly tense.
She didn't usually have the bad habit of grinding her teeth.
It was only because she was in this state of high tension that she would involuntarily perform these subconscious actions while sleeping.
"How is the state of the Dragon Knight Corps?"
"Rest assured, Your Highness. The Dragon Knight Corps is in peak condition. There is no need to worry; they can join the battle at any time."
"Good. How is the map drawing coming along?"
"It's right here."
As she spoke, Ligeia took a step forward and handed the newly drawn map to Luo Li.
This was something Luo Li had ordered Ligeia to do immediately after the battle.
She had instructed her to notify the Dragon Knight Corps to send five hundred dragon knights to take advantage of their flight capability.
Their task was to draw as much of the demon island map as possible.
Of course, this wasn't for immediate use; drawing a map now was like sharpening one's spear only when the enemy was in sight—useless for anything other than looking nice.
This was for a future day, perhaps when the demon race might make a comeback, or when the continent might launch a counter-offensive against the demon island.
Only on that day would this map... serve its purpose.
For now, it was merely preparing for a rainy day.
"Is there anything strange?"
Luo Li took the map and glanced at it.
Most of the areas they could currently map were plains.
However, one sentence from Ligeia made Luo Li's brow furrow.
"We didn't notice it before, but as the map expands, we can basically confirm that this island exhibits a gradual slope."
"A gradual slope?"
"Yes. The edges are raised, and the areas near those edges gradually decline until they level out, before climbing upward again."
That meant this plain belonged to a basin?
High edges, flat middle, high center?
"The incline is very slight and the transition is very large, so the army can hardly notice this while marching."
"How large an area has been explored?"
"Approximately thirty thousand square kilometers."
Luo Li nodded and continued to look down at the map in her hand.
Indeed, almost the entire map appeared to be flat.
However, the knights were very clever; they hadn't just drawn a blank white map. Instead, they used colored pens to gradually divide the map.
They used green for flat areas, blue for low-altitude regions, and red for high-altitude regions.
Looking at the gradient of the map, though it was very subtle, the colors were strictly distinguished.
It was just that the boundaries of the colors appeared very blurred.
"Are there any other cities near this Demon King's Castle?"
She carefully examined every detail on the map, but the useful information she could see was very sparse.
Scanning across the entire map, there were only a few places with protrusions or depressions.
And those were marked with certain symbols.
"We haven't found any other cities within a two-hundred-kilometer radius, however..."
"However what?"
Luo Li instinctively looked up at Ligeia.
"The Dragon Knight Corps discovered a road."
"A road?"
"Yes. It isn't paved with bricks, but rather a road that has been trodden out. There are no plants in that section."
As she spoke, Ligeia pointed to the location of the Demon King's Castle.
Following the icon of the Demon King's Castle, there was a curved thin line extending beyond the map.
Luo Li's brows locked tight as she set the map aside and sank into deep thought.
Ligeia did not disturb her, simply finding a place to sit down and observing her surroundings.
One had to admit that the Saint's Carriage was indeed worthy of being a heritage item of the Kingdom of the Moon.
Every single thing within it was meticulously crafted; even the walls were intricately carved and painted.
Depicted upon them were either angels or divine statues, along with some story-like elements.
Furthermore, the furnishings here seemed simple, but not a single piece was ordinary.
Just like the bracelet she had recently found for Luo Li, many of these items belonged to the category of ancient artifacts.
However, the protective capabilities of these items far exceeded their offensive power.
While Ligeia explored that side, Luo Li remained with her head down, deep in thought for a long time.
From the map, one could clearly distinguish the situation around the Demon King's Castle.
However, there was one point that concerned Luo Li quite a bit.
And that was... this Demon King's Castle was not located in the central region of the demon island.
Its position was clearly much closer to the continent.
Perhaps this was because the demon race's ambition to invade the continent had never disappeared, so they deliberately placed the Demon King's Castle close to the continent.
The purpose... was to make it convenient to raise an army at any time.
However, this road concerned Luo Li deeply.
It stood to reason that the demon elites already possessed normal reasoning.
Though they were still full of brutality and reproductive desires, they could calm down and think once those were satisfied.
And as the saying goes... a wily rabbit has three burrows.
Back then, the demon race had been countered by the entire continent together.
From occupying nearly seventy percent of the land to being completely driven onto the demon island.
It was impossible for these demons not to know the strength of the continental races.
Naturally, as long as they were smart, they wouldn't fail to leave themselves a contingency plan.
So... could the direction this road extended toward be a back door left by the demon race for themselves?
If it was, then what kind of hidden trap was buried at the end of this back door?
That tentacle worried Luo Li.
Such a powerful creature had no record in the history of a millennium ago; even the Dragon King was surprised when he saw it.
That was enough to prove that even the dragon tribe had no relevant records.
The race with the longest history on the continent had no record of this thing.
That was enough to show that this thing only appeared later.
So, was such a massive biological entity bred out of thin air?
Or was it created using some kind of method?
These were all questions.
She felt a vague inkling in her heart... that the answers to all of this likely lay at the end of that road.
"Ligeia, notify the Dragon Knight Corps to stop exploring forward. Spread the exploration toward the sides instead. We must clearly scout all the terrain behind us."
"Understood. But Your Highness, are we really not going to explore further back? Perhaps there is something else..."
"No, we won't look."
Luo Li set down the map and looked at Ligeia.
"Whatever is back there isn't something we can handle—at least, not right now."
A smile played on Ligeia's lips as she nodded her head.
"A very wise choice."
"Of course, look at who I am!"
Luo Li proudly tilted her nose up.
Yet even with such a lively action, she could not hide her deep exhaustion.
"Alright, alright, I know you have everything perfectly calculated, you are great and mighty, you..."
"Hey, hey, hey~ is there any need to be so insincere? Fine, I don't need your praise anymore. Hurry and tell the Dragon Knight Corps not to go any further."
"Yes~ my Saintess."
Watching Luo Li forcing herself to act spirited and self-satisfied, Ligeia felt both pity and amusement.
She nodded and turned to leave, but just as she reached the door, she suddenly turned back to look at Luo Li.
"Go to sleep, Your Highness. Dominica is guarding outside, and the camps of the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign are nearby. Even if something happens, their reactions will surely be faster than yours."
"Mhm, I know."
Luo Li nodded.
Ligeia was right; with the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign around, her safety should at least be guaranteed.
"I'll cast a spell for Your Highness, otherwise I can see you truly won't sleep comfortably."
"There's even a spell for that? Then... I'll have to trouble you."
Weighing the pros and cons, she truly did need a good sleep now. After all, she still had seven days to hold out.
Although her body's recovery rate was sufficient, her spirit... was not as fast to recover as her body.
"Mhm, rest easy, Your Highness. I'll take care of everything else."
The staff in Ligeia's hand swayed gently.
A pale blue aura seemed to carry the fresh scent of grass as it drifted into the surroundings.
The faint sound of rain seemed to appear in her ears, sounding both far and near.
In a daze, a wave of exhaustion washed over her heart.
"Li... geia, thank you for your hard work."
Without realizing it, she had already collapsed onto the bed.
Feeling so drowsy that she could barely keep her eyes open, Luo Li softly whispered her thanks.
The deep fatigue caused her to fall into a deep sleep the instant after she spoke those words.
Seeing how quickly Luo Li had fallen asleep, Ligeia's brow furrowed slightly as she turned and left the Saint's Carriage.
"Dominica, Her Highness is sound asleep. Do not let anyone disturb her."
Leaving the Saint's Carriage, Ligeia gave Dominica a set of instructions.
Dominica had naturally heard the sounds from inside the carriage and nodded somewhat distractedly.
Her Highness's affairs were indeed the top priority.
Now that Luo Li had fallen asleep, one of the worries on Dominica's mind was settled.
However, another worry continued to linger in her heart.
"Please rest assured, I will take good care of Her Highness."
"That's good. Remember to call me if anything happens."
"Take care, Lady Ligeia."
Dominica responded offhandedly, her mind not on Ligeia at all.
Her head was currently filled with thoughts of how she should face Kiran tonight.
At the thought of Kiran's determined gaze, Dominica felt a wave of helplessness.
She had thought about a reunion, but she never expected to be recognized so quickly.
Agonizing over this problem, she spent the entire afternoon in a daze.
By the time she snapped out of her confusion, it was when the knights brought dinner.
Looking back at her mistress inside the Saint's Carriage, she was still sleeping soundly.
Dominica didn't have the heart to wake her, so she told the knights to bring the food back later.
She herself just grabbed a few bites to make do.
As Her Highness's personal guard, she could not afford a single moment of relaxation.
After finishing quickly, Dominica began to feel a bit of drowsiness. Eating fills you up, but it also makes you tired.
Even though it was just a quick meal, the food carried by the army was transported by magic airships.
It was all prepared and then dropped from low altitude, full of nutrition, and there were even fresh steaks.
As for the dry rations the knights carried, they wouldn't eat them unless it was a special situation where they had to eat directly.
After all, there was steak... who would eat that hard-to-chew black bread?
The knights took turns eating, and anyone would be happy to eat such good food on a battlefield.
It was just that for those who had recently lost comrades, they could not bring themselves to be happy despite the delicious food.
A faint sadness lingered over the military camp.
The night on the plains carried a bit of a chill, but an orange glow not only drove away the cold but also some of the sorrow.
Knights who were not on duty sat around the campfire.
Someone couldn't help but pick up a harmonica, playing a tune to honor their fallen comrades.
It was slightly mournful yet full of vitality.
Some lowered their heads with tears in their eyes, while others looked up at the starry sky.
However.
No one noticed that beneath their feet, the shadows cast by the orange campfire...
Exhibited an extremely unnatural flickering.
It was as if something... was in the shadows, like a mouse avoiding human sight.
It darted from one shadow to another.
And the direction this shadow was heading was...
The carriage!
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